Croissant Murder (A Patisserie Mystery with Recipes) by Harper Lin Page B

 

    “When I win, I get a week’s free lunch at Damour,” Cyril said. “With champagne.”

    “Is that a death wish?” Clémence chuckled. “Fine. And if I win?”  

    “Very unlikely, but what do you want?”  

    “A personalized letter from you to me admitting how crap you are as an inspector and how superior I am. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a rough outline. You also need to sign it so I can frame it. Deal?”

    Cyril rolled his eyes, but he assented. “Deal.”  

    They shook hands.  
     

Chapter 9
    “Sorry, Sebastien,” Clémence said when she returned to the kitchen. “Duty calls. I’ll have to leave you to the macarons. Ask Berenice to help when she gets in.”

    “Another murder?” he asked. “They’re really becoming a regular thing around here now, huh?”

    “Tell me about it.”

    She tried calling Arthur, but he didn’t answer. Was he ignoring her on purpose? She left a message saying that she wanted to speak to him and that it was urgent. She wanted to explain what she was about to do. She had to see Mathieu again to get more information about Charlotte’s death.  

    Mathieu was the person she called next.  

    “ Allô? ”  

    “Mathieu. How are you doing?”

    “Not particularly well.  

    “I heard about Charlotte,” Clémence said. “I’m so sorry. The inspector paid me a visit.”

    “I’m still in shock.”  

    “I know. Listen, can we meet?”

    “I suppose. I’m at home.”

    “Great. I’ll come by.”  

    When she rushed outside, the paps aimed their cameras at her.  

    “Clémence, are you cheating on Arthur with your ex?”

    “How does Arthur feel about all this?”  

    “Didn’t your ex cheat on you?”

    A horrifying realization came to her. If the paps were harassing her with these kinds of questions, they were probably doing the same to Arthur.  

    She wished she could make it up to him, but there was another murder case to solve. She had to go to Mathieu’s house. Surely Arthur would understand once she explained everything.  

    Clémence quickly got into a taxi to escape the paparazzi. Luckily there were always plenty of taxis lined up at Place du Trocadéro. Traffic wasn’t too bad that time of day, and she was able to reach Les Lilas in less than half an hour. She really hoped she wouldn’t be photographed in front of his house again.

    When Mathieu answered the door, he looked terrible. He hadn’t shaved and his eyes were bloodshot. He was nursing a glass of gin. Nevertheless, he gave Clémence a big hug that felt heavy with need.

    “Are you okay?” she asked.

    “Terrible. What a gruesome night.”  

    “What exactly happened?”

    “When I got home last night, I got a call from the police saying that Charlotte had been shot dead earlier that evening. The police took me in for questioning, and I was there until 2am. The inspector really wanted to lock me up but I had an airtight alibi. I was at the restaurant with the gallery owner, as I told you. They questioned him, as well as the restaurant workers. Luckily, the restaurant had security cameras, so there was proof that I was there. It all checked out. If I was home alone or something, who knows what the police would’ve done to me.”  

    “They’re brutal, aren’t they?” Clémence said sympathetically. “Do you have any idea why anyone would kill Charlotte?”

    He shook his head. “It’s so odd. Charlotte was a sweet girl. I mean, sure, she was a little feisty when you met her, but she’s not usually like that. I have to admit that we’ve only been dating for a month, so I don’t know everything about her.” Mathieu downed the rest of his gin. “I feel horrible. Yesterday she was really upset about, well, us. She has a bit of a jealous streak. It was all my fault and I apologized for hours. In the end, I think she forgave me, and she even took one of the croissants home, so I don’t think she was that upset about us by the end.”

    That would’ve